This paper explores the role of family trajectories during childhood in explaining inequalities by maternal education in children's math and reading skills using harmonized, longitudinal, and nationally representative surveys, which follow children over the course of primary and lower secondary school in four high‐income countries (England, France, Germany, and the United States). As single parenthood and family transitions are more likely among less educated parents and are associated with fewer resources for children, we explore whether growing up outside a stable two‐parent family mediates educational inequalities in math and reading scores.Results show a strong educational gradient in family trajectories in the four countries, but this varies by child age and by country. Children who experience a family transition record lower test scores, although the magnitude differs by the type of postseparation arrangements.Overall, family trajectories are strongly associated with children's math and reading scores but, because of the importance of selectivity in family trajectories, they play only a modest role in explaining the skills gaps by maternal education, considerably less than determinants such as income. The penalties associated with not living within a stable two‐parent family are always larger in the United States and England than in France and Germany.

中文翻译：

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家庭结构是否会通过父母教育来解释孩子的成就差距？英国、法国、德国和美国的调查结果

本文通过协调、纵向和全国代表性的调查，对四个高收入国家的儿童在小学和初中的整个过程进行跟踪，探讨了童年时期的家庭轨迹在解释儿童数学和阅读技能方面母亲教育不平等的作用。 （英国、法国、德国和美国）。由于受教育程度较低的父母更有可能成为单亲家庭和家庭变迁，并且与儿童资源较少有关，因此我们探讨了在稳定的双亲家庭之外长大是否会介导数学和阅读成绩方面的教育不平等。结果显示，这四个国家的家庭轨迹，但这因儿童年龄和国家而异。经历家庭转变的孩子的考试成绩较低，尽管程度因分居安排的类型而异。总体而言，家庭轨迹与孩子的数学和阅读成绩密切相关，但由于家庭轨迹选择性的重要性，他们只玩孕产妇教育在解释技能差距方面作用不大，远低于收入等决定因素。在美国和英国，因不住在稳定的双亲家庭而受到的惩罚总是比法国和德国更大。